Minnesota Experts Weigh In On Deer Whistles and Road Safety

I have two huge fears living in Minnesota - snakes and deer.  If you ever hear someone screaming bloody murder, that is probably me noticing a snake is slithering by me.  Actually, I may not even make it to the scream because I'll probably pass out first.  Deer are on a completely different level though.

Just the other day, my mom hit her second deer in about a year.  One is scary enough.  Two makes it seem like the deer are starting to target you.  When she frantically called me, she asked if I had any luck with putting deer whistles on my car.  Because I am the oldest child, I already started to research this device while she was still talking.  What I found out was pretty interesting - see that below.

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Do Deer Whistles Actually Help Prevent Crashes in Minnesota?

About 40,000 deer-vehicle collisions happen in Minnesota every year.  Honestly, it is probably a few more because those are just the hits that are reported.  A few months ago, a deer ran right into my vehicle but thankfully bounced off my tire.  The only evidence of the incident was some fur in my rim.  The deer ran off, I didn't have any damage so I didn't report it.

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It would be amazing if deer would just use the deer crossing signs that are in various parts of Minnesota.  Deer do what they want and their little dash across the road in front of many of us have led to tens of millions of dollars in property damage and personal injuries each year in our state.

No one wakes up in the morning with the goal of hitting a deer on their way to work.  However, it happens, especially in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  So when my mom asked about deer whistles, I started looking at all of the facts published about this collision-prevention device.  Here's what I found:

1. Millions of dollars have been spent by consumers purchasing deer whistles.  People are buying them.  In fact, Save-A-Deer whistle states that over 2 million units have been sold throughout the world.
2. Institute of Transportation claims that during their study using deer whistles, the deer didn't change their behavior at all.
3. Trafficsafety.org indicated that during their research, the range of sounds and frequencies made with a deer whistle either weren't at a level heard by deer or not loud enough due to typical traffic noise.
4. Defenders of Wildlife did a study around the 2000s that indicated deer whistles are basically "useless" when it comes to preventing vehicle-deer collisions.

Should you count on deer whistles to help you avoid a collision?  The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says "no".  If you see a deer fence thinking that will keep the deer away - think again.  Always be alert and watch for those deer silhouettes when you are driving.

Find more deer safety tips at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety website.